bibliophile222 t1_j1qj8vu wrote on December 26, 2022 at 4:33 PM

I think this is one of those things that's more about individual preferences. I'm kind of the opposite from you and care more about the writing quality/style than plot. IMO, a really great writer can make any story worth reading for the beauty of their prose or the depth of their message. In contrast, if the plot is great but the prose is awful, I wont read it because it makes me too irritated! To each their own.

[deleted] OP t1_j1qm1ve wrote on December 26, 2022 at 4:54 PM

100%

I'm the same. Not that I enjoy subpar storytelling, but even fantastic storytelling can feel unreadable to me if the writing rubs me the wrong way. I've been skewered for saying I can't finish more than a chapter or two before abandoning King novels because his writing irritates me that badly. And yet I enjoy almost every tv/movie adaptation of his work because his storytelling is strong enough that even a butchered version of it is still captivating more often than not. I have no doubt they're lacking compared to the books, but I can't stand the books enough to find out, so the tv/movie versions are good enough for me lol.

somewheretrees t1_j1qq3bz wrote on December 26, 2022 at 5:24 PM

I'm one of these types as well. I tend to enjoy books, both fiction and nonfiction, that wouldn't do very well as movies. (One of my favorite pleasure reads is Under The Tuscan Sun, whose movie was unrecognizable when you compare it to the book because there was so little actual plot in that memoir worthy of making into a film 😂 They had to invent a whole dramatic romance plot to sell it to people. I could read that book over and over, though, and enjoy every line.) There's no greater damp squid for me than a book with a fascinating plot but super dry, to-the-point prose. The plot is never enough to get me to stay with those kinds of books.